The progress messages shown while Claude is thinking have been completely overhauled with a new visual design, faster initial feedback, and more personality.
- The indicator now appears after just 1 second of thinking, down from 10 seconds previously
- Features a proper animated spinner with a "Thinking" heading, replacing the old dim
›pointer style - The message set expanded from 5 to 14 messages, covering up to 2 minutes 45 seconds of thinking time (previously capped at 2 minutes)
- Messages have a more playful, lighthearted tone compared to the old apologetic style
- The indicator is now rendered as a dedicated component within the message list area, rather than appended below the conversation
The new message progression:
| Time | Message | |------|---------| | 1s | "Hmm…" | | 6s | "This one needs a moment…" | | 12s | "Working through it…" | | 20s | "Untangling some thoughts…" | | 28s | "Weighing a few approaches…" | | 36s | "Consulting the rubber duck…" | | 48s | "Cross-referencing seventeen theories…" | | 60s | "Double-checking the double-checks…" | | 80s | "Almost there…" | | 108s | "Pacing in small circles…" | | 120s | "Reticulating splines…" | | 135s | "Hmm…?" | | 150s | "Staring thoughtfully into the middle distance…" | | 165s | "Still here, still at it…" |
Previously, only 5 messages were shown starting at 10 seconds, with text like "Thinking a bit longer… still working on it…" and "Taking the time to get this right… thanks for your patience…"
Thinking hint component with animated spinner (search for "Consulting the rubber duck" or "Reticulating splines"). The component is passed via the new showThinkingHint prop and renders with a Thinking heading and animated spinner indicator.
Strings lifted out of the shipped bundle, so the claim above can be checked against them.